Mob prevented from burning Church in Abuja

There was panic and confusion in Karu and Nyanya suburbs of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Sunday as inhabitants ran for their life when when angry mob besieged St. Mary Catholic Church in Karu, Abuja

Our correspondent gathered that it took the combined intervention of the army and police to prevent the mob from setting the church ablaze.

According to an eyewitness, the crisis started in the early morning when an Hausa-speaking man in the area was prevented from parking his car too close to the church building, a measure reportedly put in place following attacks on places of worship by the Boko Haram sect especially in the northern part of the country.

The eyewitness, a middle-aged man who does not want his name disclosed said the man reportedly resisted the police and soldiers guarding the church leading to an argument and his detention by the security personnel.

Enraged by his detention and alleged manhandling by the officers, the man who is said to be Muslim subsequently mobilised an angry mob of mostly commercial motorcycle riders popularly known as ‘okada’ to burn the church.

He said that members of the church who tried to leave in a hurry where stoned by the mob leading to the destruction of some vehicles left behind by the worshipers who left the premises in a hurry.

The situation was also said to have been compounded by the sporadic shooting by security agents in a bid to disperse the mob.

The miscreants were said to have blocked both sides of the road leading to Nyanya and Jikwoyi-Karshi resulting in traffic congestion that lasted about three hours on the road.

“It was like a film, I was just praying that the people that are living in that area are safe. We initially thought the man was trying to plant a bomb close to the Church. Because he was prevented from parking close to the Church building, he got annoyed and went to mobilise other people,” the eyewitness said.

There were also insinuations that an Okada man was killws which according to sources is not true.

However, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ms. Hyelhira Altine Daniel, who confirmed the incident, told our correspondent that there was no attempt to burn the church.

According to her, the situation was brought under control by the combined team of soldiers and police, adding that the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Femi Olubayode had since visited the scene to calm frayed nerves.

Our security operatives are too agressive and overzealous when they are charged with responsibility to protect. They are not deplomatic enough in handling sensitive situation. They ought to know that this is a very sensitive period in moslem lives that they should be careful not to provote crisis. These men are coming out of fasting, a period they intend to purge themselves of sins and a period they believe if they die, Allah, will receive them into heaven. In their minds, there are two conflicting beliefs going on at the same time. So most times these people are just walking dead as confused as they are. One needs to treat them with atmost care and respect so that the ticking time bomd would not explode on one’s face.